Every once in awhile you come across some viral propaganda that's actually pretty neat, actually. (Consider.)

Hoping to reignite the sleeping flames of The Watchmen comic series fans, Rubber Republic launched a YouTube channel to populate with retro news stories.

Commentary's mostly favourable and views are high: all signs of happy viral life. People seem impatient for more news stories to appear as the public release of The Watchmen draws near. (In theatres March 6, boys and girls.)

We're suckers for an elaborate backstory, so this is some pretty cool shit. Hopefully the film will maintain the same fidelity to the spirit of the original comics.

Find more goodies -- including a retro game, widgets and all the necessary social network tie-ins -- at thenewfrontiersman.net. One of the videos has also been posted below.

- Gatorade's new packaging and naming conventions betray desperate need to fit in with the minimalist lifestyle 2.0 crowd. Here's an idea! from reader Elinora: "Make a drink that doesn't taste like vomit!" Come on, Ellie, it's not Gatorade's fault; those are the electrolytes.

So you know who Facebook's ad program lets people recommend/endorse various product to their friends? Wouldn't it be great if that were possible across the entire web instead of just within Facebook? Well, as a DR ad would scream, "Yes! Now you too can get social! And you don't need Facebook to so it! Call now!"

OK, so how does it all work? PopularMedia has introduced Influencer Ads. Similar to rich media banners from the likes of Pointroll, Influencer Ads are large format ads but with social networking functionality added.

It isn't immediately clear whether the Maryland Comptroller has an ingenious sense of humor or just really low standards, but "Real Tax Payers of Genius" -- a video effort to get taxpayers to e-file -- definitely left us with a queasy "What hath YouTube wrought" sensation.

Word from a colleague: "I love how the screen says ifile ... and the voice says efile." But it was the papercut scene, and the digitally-enhanced voiceover, that stole our appetites.

We can't hate on something we so deeply pity. So hey, MD, here's some help. (And warm clammy thanks to Jack for molesting us with this audiovisual gem.)

Visit the deliciously dollhousey Coraline website. Enter the house, then click on the picture frame if you want to stitch buttons onto your face. Plenty to choose from, and each set of buttons is coupled with curiously thought-out descriptions. (That's the appeal of Coraline's marketing strategy: in keeping with the handmade motif, everything feels tailored to you, even things that obviously aren't.)

Once done tweaking and zooming your button eyes, download and save; embeds are available for MySpace and Facebook.

We also came across this Coraline Nike Dunks Giveaway offer. Okay, that's some pretty deep product whoring, but oh! we want them, just to have them, just because everything Coraline reeks of tasty dark girlwitch magic.

"Twitter will remain free to use by everyone--individuals, companies, celebrities, etc. What we're thinking about is adding value in places where we are already seeing traction, not imposing fees on existing services."

So businesses already using Twitter can chill: they won't be charged extra for what they're already doing. Stone seems to be saying -- and we write that tentatively, because he leaves a lot of room for interpretation -- that only add-ons will cost anything, unless he means Twitter plans to bring ad support to high-traffic areas. (Hot hash tags and Summize search results look prime for this.)

"[We] hope to begin iterating on revenue products this year," he added.

Imagine all that in a news brief coloured by the profane angst-rage you suffer once you finally get that "motherfucking time vampire"* home. (Oh yeah, language NSFW.)

"Maybe the Onion was inspired by 'BD-Live,' the confusing and ill-advised plan to integrate Blu-ray disc watching with instant messaging," said Alley Insider. And the sad part is, that crazy POS was real.

The Ad Store just sent us a plethora of new Zappos spots for spring/summer and fall/winter 2009.

"Step into Zappos" picks up where "Put a Little Zappos in Your Day!" left off. The latter featured a chipper delivery guy bringing sunshine and rainbows to a neighborhood; these spots riff off the glee infusion you get when you finally open that package.

Underpants-clad customers are pictured either standing in a Zappos box or walking into one. Putting on their best Vanna Whites for the camera, they either reveal their purchases or lift the box over themselves -- at which point they are suddenly transformed into fully-dressed Citizens of Society.